17:47,
YEREVAN, JANUARY 17, ARMENPRESS. The results of the recent meeting of the special envoys of Armenia and Turkey Ruben Rubinyan and Serdar Kilic will be touched upon at the upcoming session of the Turkish government, CNN Turk reports.
The session will take place on Wednesday.
The special envoys of Armenia and Turkey for dialogue between the two countries met on January 14 in Moscow, Russia.
Armenia’s Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan on Monday held a phone conversation with Human Rights Commissioner of Kazakhstan Elvira Azimova to discuss issues related to the rights of Armenian community in light of recent developments in Kazakhstan.
As the Ombudsman’s Office said in a press statement, during the Azimova stressed that issues of the rights of the Armenian community remain in the center of her attention and expressed readiness to offer support upon necessity.
During the conversation, Ombudsman Tatoyan expressed condolences over the victims of the ongoing developments in the country.
20:38, 5 January, 2022
YEREVAN, JANUARY 5, ARMENPRESS. The first meeting of the special envoys of Armenia and Turkey will take place on January 14 in Moscow, ARMENPRESS reports the spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry of Armenia Vahan Hunanyan wrote on his Facebook page.
Deputy President of the National Assembly of Armenia Ruben Rubinyan will represent Armenia, while former Ambassador of Turkey to the USA Serdar Kılıç will represent Turkey.
By Ali Mammadov*
The 2020 war between Armenia and Azerbaijan resulted in the liberation of occupied territories by Azerbaijan and put an end to a three-decade-long conflict. The war had significant effects on the economies of both countries and is expected to continue to have several long-term impacts for years. The armed conflict was costly for both sides, but it was especially costly for Armenia which had a smaller economy. Apparently, Azerbaijan is now at an advantageous position benefitting from the lands and the natural resources and energy sources they contain, while Armenia became deprived of that ability. Undoubtedly, the economic benefits of the liberation of the occupied territories for Azerbaijan are almost countless. However, it can be said that the resolution of the conflict and improvement in relationships can eventually benefit almost everyone in the region, including Armenia.
Since investors usually prefer a stable environment, the conclusion of the three-decades-long conflict may help both sides attract more foreign investment in the long run. Eventually, GDPs of both countries can potentially rise moderately as a result of increased FDI. The stability is also likely to rise the credit ratings of both countries over time and thereby lower the interest rates for both countries. However, investors will not be the only ones to perceive Armenia as more attractive. The absence of conflict may also attract more tourists from all around the world. As a result of higher foreign investments in the region, the number of business-related travels may increase as well.
Also, it is known that peace and stability generally promote economic growth. The absence of threat may lead to a reduction in military spending and allow Armenia to spend more funds on other areas, such as public projects and human capital, and strengthen its economy.
Furthermore, the funds that were supposed to be spent on the occupied territories, especially the Karabakh region, can now be spent on other projects. According to Berlin Economics, Armenia could save up to 3% of GDP annually by not distributing funds and loans to support the economy of the Karabakh region. (1) It should be noted that the loans were rarely profitable for Armenia. Usually, the receiving side of the interstate loans would have difficulties in paying the debt and cause problems for the country. Also, despite the high costs associated with supporting the region, Armenia was never able to make full use of the occupied territory since it had a scarce population to inhabit the region and underdeveloped infrastructure to fully exploit the natural resources. The maintenance of the region could sometimes be excessively costly for such a small economy.
Additionally, the absence of conflict may improve Armenia’s relationships with Azerbaijan and Turkey, the two countries that have imposed blockade on Armenia and closed borders with it since the beginning of the three-decades-long conflict. The blockade had two major negative consequences for Armenia: undiversified transportation routes and the opportunity cost of not having trade relations with Azerbaijan and Turkey. Except for the two countries, Armenia has only Georgia and Iran as its neighbors. Most of Armenia’s exports to Europe are still being transported through Georgia. Exports pass through two routes in Georgia: The Port of Poti and the Upper Lars transport corridors. Neither of the routes provides ease for Armenia because Poti causes the loss of too much time and is costly, while Upper Lars is uncomfortable and risky. (2) Undiversified trade routes also meant that if Georgia stopped passing Armenian goods deliberately or unintentionally Armenia would face serious problems.
For example, in 2008, a rail bridge was destroyed in Georgia, and this caused difficulties in the transportation of goods from Armenia. The situation eventually increased gas prices. (3) Therefore, it is in Armenia’s best interest to add more transportation links to mitigate the risks associated with relying heavily on one country for transportation and to lower the costs of transportation. In addition to the exports to Europe, Armenia can also transport goods to Asian countries, such as Kazakhstan, more efficiently through Azerbaijan’s Caspian Sea ports eventually as a result of improved relationships.
Armenia’s exports have been generally low. Trade volume can be improved by having a better relationship with Turkey and Azerbaijan and having open borders. Though Armenia has been able to import from Turkey, the blockade has prohibited it from exporting to the country. In fact, if the borders open and trade relations normalize Turkey can potentially become one of the major trade partners of Armenia. In addition, Armenia may start buying gas from Azerbaijan, one of the biggest gas suppliers in the region, and diversify the list of countries it purchases gas from, which includes Russia and Iran only. This would allow Armenia to diversify away the risks and find better terms when purchasing gas.
In short, although the war had significant negative impacts on the economy of Armenia, it still has the chance to benefit from stability and peace by cooperating with its neighbors. In order to develop a sustainable economy, Armenia must not lose the chance to improve its ties with its neighbors and must contribute to the maintenance of peace in the region.
*Ali Mammadov is a Master of Arts in International Relations student at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and has earned a Bachelor of Science Degree from George Washington University. Currently, he is a visiting researcher at Economics Research Institute and writes blog posts on his Medium blog.
References:
De Waal, T. (2021). In the South Caucasus, Can New Trade Routes Help Overcome a History of Conflict? Carnegie Europe. https://carnegieeurope.eu/2021/11/08/in-south-caucasus-can-new-trade-routes-help-overcome-history-of-conflict-pub-85729
Killough, A. (2008). Armenia in Need of an Alternative Export-Import Route. The Jamestown Foundation. https://jamestown.org/program/armenia-in-need-of-an-alternative-export-import-route/
Saha, D., Giucci R., Lücke, M., Kirchner, R., Movchan, V., Zachmann, G. (2018). The Economic Effect of a Resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict on Armenia and Azerbaijan. Berlin Economics. https://www.ifw-kiel.de/experts/ifw/matthias-luecke/the-economic-effect-of-a-resolution-of-the-nagorno-karabakh-conflict-on-armenia-and-azerbaijan/
Notes:
GM Levon Aronian, the Armenian star-player who recently moved to and now represents the United States, finished day one of the World Blitz Chess Championship with 10/12 and in clear first, Chess.com reports.
Behind him are Egyptian GM Bassem Amin, the five-time African champion with 9.5/12, and 21-year-old Iranian GM Parham Maghsoodloo, with 9/12.
GM Haik Martirosyan of Armenia finished day one with 8.5/12, sharing the 4th-13th places, the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports reported.
The World Blitz Chess Championship will conclude on Thursday. The marathon event was jam-packed with action as 179 participants in the open section played no fewer than 12 games in one day, and they will play another nine today.
Wednesday,
More Armenian POWs Freed
Armenia - A road sign in Syunik near the scene of deadly fighting between
Armenian and Azerbaijani forces, November 17, 2021.
Azerbaijan set free on Wednesday another group of Armenian soldiers captured
during deadly fighting on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border last month.
An Azerbaijani government commission said the five soldiers were repatriated
“with Hungary’s mediation” but gave no other details.
The Armenian Foreign Ministry confirmed their release. A ministry spokesman also
identified them.
It was not clear whether the handover followed a direct contact between Armenian
and Hungarian authorities.
Armenia froze diplomatic relations with the central European nation in 2012
after the Hungarian government extradited to Azerbaijan an Azerbaijani army
officer who hacked to death a sleeping Armenian colleague in Budapest in 2004.
The officer whom a Hungarian court sentenced to life imprisonment in 2006 was
pardoned, rewarded and promoted by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
Unlike other European Union member states, Hungary has openly supported
Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The Hungarian Foreign Ministry
reaffirmed that support three days after the outbreak of last year’s
Armenian-Azerbaijani war.
A total of 32 Armenian soldiers were taken prisoner during the November 16
fighting on the border which left at least 13 troops from both sides dead.
Azerbaijan freed eleven POWs on December 4 and ten others on December 19.
For its part, the Armenian military detained two Azerbaijani servicemen on
December 18. They both were freed two days later.
Iran To Open Consulate In Strategic Armenian Region
Armenia - Mount Khustup overlooking the town of Kapan, June 4, 2018. (Photo
courtesy of Kapan.am)
Iran announced on Wednesday that it will open a consulate in Kapan, the
administrative center of Armenia’s southeastern Syunik province bordering the
Islamic Republic.
The Iranian Embassy in Yerevan said on its Twitter page that Iran’s government
approved a relevant proposal made by the Foreign Ministry in Tehran. It gave no
reasons for the decision.
The embassy posted several photographs of Syunik’s historic monuments and other
landmarks.
Reacting to the development, an Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesman told the
Armenpress news agency that Yerevan is planning to open a consulate in an
unspecified Iranian city. He did not comment further.
Sandwiched between Azerbaijan and its Nakhichevan exclave, Syunik connects the
rest of Armenia to Iran through mountainous roads used not only for
Armenian-Iranian trade but also cargo shipments to and from other parts of the
world.
Armenia lost control over one of those roads after a controversial troop
withdrawal ordered by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian following last year’s war
over Nagorno-Karabakh. In September this year, Azerbaijan set up checkpoints
there to tax Iranian trucks and other vehicles. The move triggered unprecedented
tensions between Tehran and Baku.
An influential Iranian cleric accused Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in
October of trying to “cut Iran’s access to Armenia” with Turkey’s help. More
than 160 members of Iran’s parliament likewise issued a joint statement warning
against “any geopolitical change and alteration of the borders of neighboring
countries.”
Visiting Yerevan last week, a conservative Iranian lawmaker, Mahmoud
Ahmadi-Bighash, reportedly warned that Tehran is strongly opposed to any
redrawing of borders in the South Caucasus. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein
Amir-Abdollahian made similar statements this fall.
Aliyev has repeatedly threatened to forcibly open a “corridor” to Nakhichevan,
drawing strong condemnation from Armenia.
Yerevan says that Azerbaijani troops advanced a few kilometers into Syunik in
May and November. The Azerbaijani side denies crossing the Armenian-Azerbaijani
border.
Minister Noncommittal About Resignation Pledge
• Sargis Harutyunyan
Armenia - Economy Minister Vahan Kerobian speaks with journalists during a
Russian-Armenian business forum in Yerevan, September 20, 2021.
Economy Minister Vahan Kerobian signaled on Wednesday that he has no plans to
step down despite Armenia’s failure to achieve double-digit economic growth
promised by him earlier this year.
Kerobian offered a rosy outlook for the Armenian economy in April as it began
recovering from last year’s deep recession primarily caused by the coronavirus
pandemic.
“I’m not quite happy with month-on-month economic growth in March,” he told
reporters at the time. “Instead of 7-7.5 percent projected by us, only 3.8
percent [growth] was registered, according to preliminary data. But that will
still be enough to ensure our double-digit economic growth by the end of this
year.”
He declared that he will resign if the Armenian economy does not expand at a
double-digit rate in 2021.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said in July that the economy is on course to
grow by 6 percent. Earlier this month, the Central Bank of Armenia forecast a
GDP growth rate of just 4.2 percent.
Kerobian was asked about his resignation pledge when he spoke with journalists
on Wednesday.
“Clearly, if the prime minister or his political team is unhappy with my work
they won’t wait for my resignation,” he replied.
Pashinian appointed the 45-year-old businessman as economy minister in a cabinet
reshuffle in November 2020. Kerobian was the chief executive of Armenia’s
largest food delivery company until then.
Kerobian has repeatedly put an optimistic spin on economic developments in the
country over the past year, prompting criticism from opposition members and
media commentators. He claimed on December 16 that economic growth this year has
been “faster than expected” and that Armenians are now “better off than one or
two years ago” despite a significant increase in the cost of living.
According to government data, annual inflation in Armenia rose to 9.6 percent in
November, the highest rate in many years.
Electricity Prices In Armenia Raised
• Robert Zargarian
Armenia - A newly constructed electrical substation, October 24, 2019.
Public utility regulators raised electricity prices in Armenia by an average of
about 10 percent on Wednesday amid higher-than-expected inflation.
The Public Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC) signaled the impending price
hikes earlier this month. It warned that the Armenian energy sector will operate
at an annual combined loss of 23.8 billion drams ($49 million) if the existing
tariffs are not revised upwards.
In a December 20 statement, the PSRC cited the need to repay $270 million in
loans used for the recently completed modernization of the Metsamor nuclear
plant. It also pointed to Armenia’s contractual obligation to enable Russia’s
Gazprom energy giant to recoup investments made in a large thermal-power plant
located in the central town of Hrazdan.
The statement revealed that the Armenian and Russian governments have reached an
agreement that commits Yerevan to providing the Hrazdan plant with $31.8 million
annually for the next ten years.
“Those obligations must be fulfilled,” Ashot Urikhanian, a senior PSRC official,
said on Wednesday. “Or else, we will have very serious problems.”
Urikhanian also stressed that in exchange for this subsidy Russia’s Gazprom
giant will keep the wholesale price of its natural gas for Armenia “stable” for
the next ten years. The gas price currently stands at $165 per thousand cubic
meters, which is well below the international levels.
Armenia -- A thermal power plant in Hrazdan.
The PSRC’s decision means that electricity tariffs will rise by 4.7 drams (about
1 U.S. cent) per kilowatt/hour on average on February 1. The daytime price paid
by most Armenian households currently stands at almost 45 drams (9 cents) per
kilowatt/hour.
The regulatory body said low-income families making up 11 percent of the
population will not pay more for electricity. Other individual consumers will
see their electricity bills rise by between 3 and 7 percent depending on the
monthly amount of energy use. The steepest price rise was set for businesses.
The new tariffs and their knock-on effects could further push up the cost of
living in the country. According to government data, consumer price inflation
there rose to 9.6 percent in November, the highest rate in many years.
Little wonder then that many Armenians are reacting angrily to the PSRC’s
decision.
“They should just hand out ropes to people and tell them to hang themselves,”
said one woman in Yerevan. “We can barely afford food, and they are now making
electricity more expensive.”
“We should hope for the better but there is no future,” said another.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2021 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
The Armenian Communities Department of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation has allocated more than $140,000 to the 16 Armenian schools in Lebanon. This follows the donation of 650 tablets and 50 laptops to the schools at the beginning of 2021.
Since its establishment, the Armenian Communities Department has paid special attention to the Armenian schools in the Middle East. In recent years, the Foundation has developed a comprehensive strategy for Lebanon, with a particular focus on the Armenian community schools.
Currently, Lebanon is facing one of the worst economic crises in its history. In response, the Foundation has temporarily suspended The School Grant Program it launched in 2020. Instead of supporting three schools to develop comprehensive educational projects, it is supporting all schools to meet immediate needs.
The current support provided to Lebanon is in addition to the Foundation’s other initiatives in the country: scholarships, special education, teacher training, publications and funding for cultural initiatives by youth.
For further information visit the Armenian Communities Department’s website.
18:32,
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 24, ARMENPRESS. Georgian parliament speaker Kakha Kuchava has resigned, ARMENPRESS reports, citing TASS, Chairman of the Georgian Dream Party Georgian dream party Irakli Kobakhidze informed.
“The party held a meeting of the political council today, where several important personnel issues were discussed. First of all, I would like to inform you that the Speaker of the Parliament Kakha Kuchava has decided to resign”, Kobakhidze said.
He said that the ruling party will nominate Shalva Papuashvili, the party’s public relations secretary, as the new Speaker.
The government of Azerbaijan has demanded that Google remove the Armenian names of places in Artsakh from its Maps application, Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry reported Thursday.
“We would like to bring to your attention that in addition to including the official names of Azerbaijan’s Karabakh region in the Azerbaijani language within the Google Maps application, the issue of using fake names in the Armenian language has been raised before Google via official diplomatic channels,” said Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Leyla Abdullayeva, who was referring to names of cities and towns in Artsakh currently being occupied by Azerbaijan.
According to her, a letter was sent to the company’s management regarding the “distortion of the names of the territories of Azerbaijan,” and a list of “official geographical names” of the relevant territories was submitted to the company.
“Moreover, we would like to recall that in May of this year we presented a national report prepared by the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Azerbaijan at the annual session of the UN Group of Experts on Geographical Names (UNGEGN),” added Abdyllayeva, who explained that the report contained a list of 4,589 settlements officially standardized and approved in Azerbaijani, English, and Russian, “as well as the names of 125 geographical places located and identified in our territories affected by the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict.”
“Resolutions adopted by the United Nations Conference on Standardization of Geographical Names do not allow changes in standardized geographical names by any competent public authority of any state, and such changes cannot be recognized by the United Nations,” said Abdullayeva, who urged Azerbaijanis to appeal to Google since “this application is based on the principle of individual requests and approaches of users.”